II Chronicles 6:32-42
I find Solomon’s prayer of dedication for the Temple very interesting. He speaks to God about certain conditions these people of God would be in. If they would pray toward the temple, God was supposed to hear them. He said this is the place and Jerusalem would be the city where God would choose to put His name. If they were away on a journey or taken captive, they were to look toward the temple and pray, and God was supposed to hear them. This is not to say that a building or a place has a sacredness to it, but rather it meant their focus was to be on God (and in the future Christ, who would come to make atonement for their sins).
I suppose the best example of this is in Jonah when he was in the belly of the fish. He said: my prayer came in unto thee, into thine Holy Temple.” (Jonah 2:7). Where was the temple located from the belly of the fish? It was a spiritual expression. Daniel used this same example while in captivity in Babylon when he prayed with his windows open towards Jerusalem. (Daniel 6:10)
Now in the New Testament things are different. Jesus told the Samaritan woman: Woman the hour cometh when neither in this mountain (Gerazim) nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. They that worship (and pray to) Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. It is not toward an earthly temple anymore which was destroyed in 70 AD. We who are true Christians are now the temple and the Spirit of God lives in us collectively (I Corinthians 3:16) and individually (I Corinthians 6:19-20). But be careful, God is the same God as in the Old Testament. We don’t lose our salvation but this human temple (our body) can be destroyed.
I suppose the best example of this is in Jonah when he was in the belly of the fish. He said: my prayer came in unto thee, into thine Holy Temple.” (Jonah 2:7). Where was the temple located from the belly of the fish? It was a spiritual expression. Daniel used this same example while in captivity in Babylon when he prayed with his windows open towards Jerusalem. (Daniel 6:10)
Now in the New Testament things are different. Jesus told the Samaritan woman: Woman the hour cometh when neither in this mountain (Gerazim) nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. They that worship (and pray to) Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. It is not toward an earthly temple anymore which was destroyed in 70 AD. We who are true Christians are now the temple and the Spirit of God lives in us collectively (I Corinthians 3:16) and individually (I Corinthians 6:19-20). But be careful, God is the same God as in the Old Testament. We don’t lose our salvation but this human temple (our body) can be destroyed.
